Cuomo urges New Yorkers to help clean up Irene's aftermath in North Country, Catskills

Hans Pennink / AP PhotoNew York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Right, with state Sen. James Seward, second from right, comforts Ricard and Emily Morse while surveying the damage caused by Tropical Storm Irene in Prattsville, N.Y., Wednesday.

Syracuse -- Gov. Andrew Cuomo today called on New Yorkers to donate “old-fashioned elbow grease” and money for cleanup efforts in the North Country, the Catskills and other areas hit by Hurricane Irene.

The effort, “Labor for your Neighbor,” will allow people to sign up on the governor’s website starting this morning through the Labor Day weekend to volunteer to help remove debris, mud and silt left behind by Irene’s floodwaters.

The state will then coordinate volunteer work crews to move into affected areas on Sunday and Monday.

“We need tremendous assistance in cleaning up,” Cuomo said this morning during a conference call with reporters. “In this way, we’re looking to have people help out their own neighbors.”

The receded waters have left layers of muck inside businesses and homes, coating books, clothes, walls and other items, Cuomo said.

For those who can’t physically help this weekend, Cuomo encouraged people to donate money to the United Way of New York. That money will go toward Irene victims within the state, the governor said.

Wal-Mart and The Home Depot are donating equipment toward the cleanup effort, according to Howard Glaser, the state’s director of operations.

Cuomo, a Democrat, said he does not foresee the state having to borrow any money to pay for the cleanup and recovery.

But the governor also called on national leaders to stop bickering about depleted funding levels at the Federal Emergency Management Agency and start helping people who have mud piled up three feet high in their homes.

“Finance this urgent need now,” Cuomo said. “Play the politics later, and not at the expense of the people of the nation.”

On Saturday, Cuomo planned to tour damaged areas with U.S. Department of Agriculture Sec. Thomas Vilsack.

He also said he would be on hand to help with the cleanup over the weekend.